My Cup Runneth Over

It still amazes me after all these years of Blogging and being on the computer the kinds of relationships you can develop. Here you are connecting with someone you have never met face to face or even talked to on the phone and an instant friendship blossoms :o) I've met a lot of wonderful people over these years and in this post, I want to thank two very special ones.

Carol and I have been reading each other's Blogs for a few years now and I've always admired her work and talent :o) Imagine my surprise when I went to the mailbox one day and discovered this waiting for me -

Yes, that lovely little bunny made its way to my house! I am SO honored to have a piece of Carol's stitching and her over one work is phenomenal! I had asked her about borrowing The Prairie Schooler chart she had but she went well beyond her friendship duty and bought me my own copy :o) Thank you so much Carol!

The second person made an appearance on my Blog awhile back. Somehow I think it was fate that brought us together :o) When we put Duncan to sleep, I immediately knew what I wanted to get DH for his birthday; a watercolor portrait to go on the wall with the one she did of Brie. Jobi did not disappoint and went above and beyond my expectations -

Not only was there the portrait of Duncan but one of Brie and Duncan together :o) DH and I were SO touched! Unfortunately I'm one frame short but expect to fix that next week when we go back to the Big City. We plan on putting them up behind the couch and that way we can all watch television together.

I highly recommend Jobi's work! She is a very talented artist and has done a fantastic job of bringing our critter kids back to life. Thank you again Jobi :o)

IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you who follow my Blog, you'll know that my Blogaversary is coming up towards the end of the month :o) Five years! Wow! And as you know, I always give away a nice GC from an ONS... Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed with the turnout from my last giveaway. It seems that some people just come out of the shadows for the gifts and then retreat again :o(

Now don't get me wrong! I know that life is hectic and there is not always time to read everyone's Blogs. I'm guilty of that and as we speak, I'm behind myself. BUT...I do eventually read those Blogs and I do leave comments.

So...I've come up with a new rule. In order to be included in this year's giveaway, you must have commented on every post from now until I upload the post for my Blogaversary. Honestly, not that hard ;o) I hope you will understand and continue to enjoy the craziness that is The Pumpkin Patch.

Goodbye Duncan

By now you are over Rainbow Bridge and reunited with Brie. Take care of each other.

1997-2011

Forever Brie :o)

Back in February, there was an online event called One World One Heart. If you're not familiar with it, the basic concept is that artisans from all over the world hold giveaways on their Blogs. This year there were 871 people participating! It's a great way to see new Blogs and meet other talented craftspeople :o)

Unfortunately the event happened during our last funeral so I wasn't able to visit all the Blogs that were listed. But somehow and for some reason I will never know, I stumbled across one that truly gave me the greatest gift...

Jobi is the owner of WaterColor Your World and she specializes in watercolor portraits of animals :o) When I looked at her Blog, I loved what I saw. People's pets just came alive. When Jobi emailed me and told me that I was the Grand Prize winner, I just couldn't believe it!

When I emailed her pictures and told her the story of Brie, Brie gained another fan :o) I sent a handful of my favourite shots but I let Jobi surprise me as to which one she would use. Yesterday I picked up my winnings at the post office and I was just blown away! Here is Brie's watercolor portrait -

It's just outstanding and my eyes welled up with tears because I can remember that day at the ocean just like it was yesterday :o) She also made up some note cards with the same portrait and included them in my package.

I can't thank Jobi enough for what she gave me because it's more than just a picture and it's more than what I can put into words. I haven't checked with DH yet but I think we'll put our little girl in the television room with us so that we can see her every day.

If you have ever thought or would like to have a portrait done of your pet, I highly recommend Jobi. She's such a sweetie, with a heart of gold :o) Thank you again Jobi. You did a wonderful job of capturing our memory of Brie.

No Hip In My Hop :o(

Sigh! I have some sad news to share with you all. It's something that I had been fighting with for months and finally I had to make a decision on what to do.

Yesterday I took Popcorn back to the shelter :o( This was not an easy thing for me. I SO wanted a bunny back in my life but for some reason the special bond that I was looking for never developed between us.

As sweet as Popcorn could be sometimes, she was quite aggressive most of the time. She loved to be petted but hated to be picked up. The whole time she was here was basically a training period and I've never had to put that much work into a bunny before. Please don't take that the wrong way! Most relationships happen naturally but I would have continued to work with her if I thought things would have changed.

I was so hurt when the shelter told me that "Adopting a pet is a huge responsibility and it takes time, patience, love and commitment..." Yes there have been a few times when pets have not worked out for me but the majority of the time they have. I had my bunny Scooter for almost seven years and Pickles for eleven. They were both with me until they died. If that's not commitment, I don't know what is.

But that bond that I was hoping for with Popcorn just wasn't there, even after seven months of work, and it's not something you can force. I just didn't feel that maternal instinct. I had it with Scooter, with Pickles and most of all Brie. It was so strong that I would have killed if someone harmed them.

In the end though I am disappointed in myself because I feel like I have failed Popcorn :o( I hate seeing animals shuffled from home to home and I only hope that they will find the right home for her next time. If there is one blessing in this it's that Popcorn totally made herself at home when we got to the shelter :o) That was the very last thing I expected of her! It made it a 'bit' easier to leave her behind.

I am missing her and keep looking for her. I want to call out her name when I walk into my craft room. It will take some time to adjust. For now our house will remain bunnyless but at least the memories will still be there :o)

The (Un)happy Skater

That's an understatement at the moment! LOL!

On Friday, my friend K and I went to the noon hour skate that they have at the local rink. I was excited because I haven't been on skates for 'years' and it was an opportunity for some girl time :o) Now I am not the most coordinated person on this planet but I was proud of the fact that I never fell...not even once! I wasn't the most graceful either but it definitely was a good workout. Unfortunately when I peeled my skates off, my socks were soaked with blood :o( If you gross out easily, don't go any further because here are my war wounds -

Ewwwwww! So now I have two good sized blisters on both heels and one huge blister on the arch of my right foot. Thankfully I haven't had to go out but when I do, I may have to wear my Crocs :o) LOL! No worries though, this hasn't deterred me from going again!

Sabrina has been making a few appearances but there are three other projects that I want to do before the end of the year. I've accepted the fact that she won't be finished and my goal will not be met but that's okay.

I've started one of these projects already. Here is Happy Skater by LHN -

The fabric in the picture will be the backing fabric when it's transformed into an ornament. I was SO happy to find something Christmassy that matched the Tumbleweed linen :o)

All I can say is that I hope it's going to be a good mail week! I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that it's been steadily raining since Thursday night. Yup, rain, rain, rain. After doing a little research, they're saying we've had five inches of rain since the evening of November 4. DH and I are seriously questioning this. Poor Duncan hasn't been able to get out much. This morning DH attempted to make him a rain coat -

ROFL! No, he didn't wear it during his walk this morning ;o)

Hot Popcorn!

Well apparently Earl decided to spare us :o) We got lots of wind and that was about it! It seems that Halifax and the Dartmouth area got the brunt of it with a lot of wind damage. They put so much hype on these things. I'm just glad it wasn't as bad as they made it out to be.

The one 'good' thing about Earl is that he swept away the heat and humidity :o) I wasn't the only one that thought it was too hot -

Poor Popcorn. She's got such a heavy coat.

Now that she's in my stitching room though, it's much cooler than upstairs so she's much happier :o)

Isn't that the most innocent looking bunny you've ever seen? LOL! At least she's not the raving maniacal female that she was. Gee, I wish they would give me a hysterectomy. That would surely fix a lot of my problems and I'm sure DH would agree ;o)

Regular Popcorn

It's been a week and a half since Popcorn had her full hysterectomy. DH and I have to agree that she is back to her frisky self; just the bitchy attitude is gone :o) Don't get me wrong, she can still show attitude! Rearranging items in her home is a HUGE no-no. That's when the growling and the claws come out.

I do miss the constant chatter that she had going with me. I'm not sure if it was good or bad because I've never heard a rabbit 'talk'. For those of you who are not familiar with rabbit life (Denise!), a rabbit will grunt (happy to see you or if you want a more honest answer...horny), growl (angry bunny so beware) and scream (when extremely frightened).

Yes, rabbits do scream. In all my years I've only heard a rabbit scream once and it's not something I want to hear again. It was back when I had my first bunny, Scooter. I had taken him out in the yard and he had gotten a little too far away from me. The next thing I knew, he had taken cover under the pine trees that ran along the back driveway. I spent a good 20 minutes chasing him up and down the hill. Finally I got wise, took my shoes off and snuck up on him. When I grabbed him from behind, it was like listening to a squealing pig, only a few octaves higher in pitch.

Okay, I've strayed a bit ;o) Popcorn seems to be much happier in her new spot in the house. It's much quieter, cooler and she's up off the ground so there is a better view of what's going on around her. She's still more nervous than I would like and I have no idea why she is this way :o( She is starting to learn about feeding time and will come over to greet me :o)

As you can see, her ears did not stay down. LOL! I'm not sure what happened. Now she has one up and one out to the side. Oh well, it just gives her personality ;o)

D Is For...

DEBORAH! Deborah, you are the winner of my giveaway! Please email me your mailing address so that I can get your package off to you :o)

P is for...Popcorn. My little monster went in on Tuesday and was spayed. It was a good thing too because she was coming into heat. No wonder I was dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She's been really good since she came home. We've been keeping her in my stitching room where it's really quiet. I hope this will be the solution to her bitchy attitude because it's no fun dealing with her angry alter-ego. LOL!

S is for...stitching. I've been working at it but not as much as I would like to. I'd say that I am about halfway done but this is crazy! It's only ornament size but it seems to be taking forever :o( My in-laws were here over the weekend and since they've left, I've been SO tired. I hope this feeling goes away soon. I miss my stitching.

M is for...movies. Tonight DH and I went to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo at our local theatre. If you're not familiar with this movie, it's a must see! Just a warning, it's a foreign movie, with sub-titles, and it's very graphic. If you're not up for the movie, I highly recommend reading the book! It's by Stieg Larsson and the first in a three part series. I'm almost done reading the second book - The Girl Who Played With Fire and I can't wait to see the movie.

Gingerbread Men, Mad Dog & Scared Rabbit

Gee, that's quite a title isn't it? You just KNOW that there's a story in there somewhere ;o)

Here is my progress on Gingerbread Tree by LHN -

My stitching mojo has gone out the window lately but I've been slowly plugging away. In reality, this should have been finished by now.

I did change some things with this pattern. Again, I went with the 32 count Light Mocha linen (because I had another cut piece prepared) but I also mixed up the colours a bit. Instead of DMC 712 (I thought this was a weird choice), I went with DMC B5200 and instead of DMC 937, I went with DMC 3363. I am contemplating changing the DMC 221 to DMC 3722 but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Btw, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on my cube finish. It really made my day :o)

On Wednesday night I was woken up at 3:30 am by thunder and lighting. My first thought was that I had to get up and close the windows! As I ran out of the bedroom, I banged into Duncan out on the landing. He was in a state with his tongue almost hitting the floor. You see, he absolutely HATES thunder and lighthning. He was running around like a mad dog when I noticed that he had peed on the hardwood floor just inside the TV room and was tracking it all over the place :o(

Once I was able to corral him into the basement, I was hit with the lovely bouquet scent of s*$@. Yup, he had pooped on the dining room hardwood floor. This did NOT make me a very happy camper >:o( So guess what I did from 3:30-5:30 am? I scrubbed floors. Yes...I was on my hands and knees for two hours cleaning the worst areas. I figured I would deal with the rest in the morning. Well, basically later that day.

Now poor Popcorn was in her own terrible state. I can only imagine how she felt when this 55 pound mad dog came running up the stairs and up to her cage in the dark :o( She was scared stiff. Literally. I had to sit there and pet her until she calmed down enough that I could go back to bed. The poor thing. Needless to say, the three of us were quite tired the whole day.

So yesterday and today I've been hobbling along, stiffer than a wooden board. My Fibro has flared up and the pain is intense :o( Thankfully we had a break in the humidity and I was able to get out and take some photos, therefore stretching out some muscles. Now today looks like another stinker. I think I'll wait until a little later before I stick my nose out the door. It might do me some good to lay down and watch a well deserved movie ;o)

I Smell Gingerbread!

A gingerbread cube finish that is ;o)

On Tuesday I went to the Little City and bought my cube and then on Wednesday it was the trip from H*@% to the Big City and I was able to pick up the remainder of the supplies that I needed. I didn't have a lot of choice for gingerbread fabric and this isn't what I really had in mind but I think it works :o)

Working with a fabric that has straight lines in it is tricky but I really surprised myself with this finish and how happy I am with it. Btw, this is a no-sew cube.

I wasn't sure about the white ribbon but I like how it makes the white in the design pop. If I had gone with a green or burgundy it probably would have been too hard to match everything up. As it was, I had a hard enough time finding the white wired ribbon!

Since I spend part of last night and this morning finishing my cube, I haven't started my new stitchy project yet. It's still hot and humid here and my energy level is nil! Tonight I hope to sit back, watch a movie and hopefully stitch :o)

Some of you have been asking for pictures of Popcorn and lately it's been hard getting a good one of her. She's got her 'moods' now and I just hope that I did the right thing in adopting her. I've never had a pet rabbit that was this hard to bond with. Don't get me wrong, she is excellent at times and always loves to be petted but I haven't gotten the 'bunny greeting' yet :o(

The good news is Popcorn has learned to use her new glass water bottle! I was using a stainless steel dish that I used with Pickles but Popcorn is a much messier rabbit. It must be a girl thing. LOL! Now she has more room and she can 'pop' all over her cage and I don't have to worry that she'll dump water everywhere.

Here is Popcorn's parting shot for you -

This is the 'invisible bunny' pose ;o)

Gingerbread & Popcorn

Hmmm...I wonder if the two really go together. It might be quite tasty :o)

After my last finish, I decided to put off going back to Sabrina due to the HEAT! Ugh! It has been HOT and MUGGY :o( Two things that do not agree with me. Since I still have four more ornament sized pieces to do, I picked one of those. Here is my progress so far on Season Of Love by Country Cottage Needleworks -

This is such a 'sweet' design. I didn't have the recommended fabric so I went with 32 count Light Mocha linen. Again, how many different shades of beige can you have?

I can't wait to see what she has for an ornament in the actual JCS Ornament Issue :o) I do plan on stitching The Gingerbread Tree by LHN. Am I starting to show a pattern here already? LOL!

This heat has been affecting the animals as well. Popcorn ends up doing her popping all night (much to our dislike) and then during the day she plays dead bunny -

Unfortunately this is the best picture I could get of her. Usually she does a huge flop on her side and then curls up in the fetal position :o) She tries her hardest to stay awake but if you watch her long enough, her eyes start to close and her head keeps falling down.

The only upside is that if the heat gets too unbearable, we can go down into the basement! Yes, I've never been so happy to have one ;o)

More Popcorn Please

Yesterday I took Popcorn for her first vet visit with Dr. C :o) I was SO proud of her! She took the whole exam like a pro, even getting her temperature taken. Yes, I did say 'she'. It's official...Popcorn is a girl. Oye! For a female, she is very laid back. DH and I have been doing a lot with her so that she gets accustomed to different things. I'm a little worried about her right now though because she seems to have soft poop and I'm not sure why :o( I saved some to show Dr. C and she wasn't too concerned. DH says I'm worrying too much and maybe I am. I just hope this wasn't a mistake getting her because I'm not sure I would be ready to lose another animal but how could you resist this sweet little thumper -

Just to prove that I am STILL stitching, I've taken another progress picture of my Piping Plover -

I was really hoping to have this finished up by the end of June but since it's June 30, I doubt this is going to happen :o( By some miracle I might achieve that goal. I mean I only have a little bit of the eggs and the rest of the baby left to do and then a bit of backstitching. Who knows, maybe I'll get caught up in another FIFA game tonight ;o)

Awhile back I won Karen's giveaway and it finally arrived by mail! We were both getting a little worried but that's Canada Post for you >:o( I have to say that I am truly honoured to have another piece(s) stitched by another stitcher and Karen's finishes are beautiful in person -

Thank you so much Karen and I will definitely cherish them!

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday weekend! DH has four days off and we'll be getting together with friends and maybe hitting the beach :o) What do you have planned?

Popcorn!

There's your answer to yesterday's riddle :o) Quite a few of you got it right and I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the stuff. There was a reason why I tortured you...because it's the subject of today's post. Huh? What's so special about popcorn you ask? Remember that birthday present I was waiting for? Well it finally arrived home yesterday :o)

Now you're probably asking yourself WHY her DH would get her popcorn for her birthday. I never said that popcorn was actually blown up kernels of corn ;o) Ah-ha!

So...I'm VERY proud to introduce the newest member of our family...Popcorn -

Gotcha! LOL! Believe it or not but I've kept this secret since the last part of May! This was NOT easy, believe me.

As some of you know, last year I had to put my bunny, Pickles, to sleep and then my sweet Brie (our Miniature Dachshund) :o( It was a very difficult year. DH and I have talked at length and have decided we are not ready for another dog but another bunny was a possibility.

When our local shelter advertised that they had a litter of baby bunnies born on April 22, I knew it was time. Someone had found Momma rabbit astray and she surprised the shelter when she had nine (unfortunately one passed away) little ones. They're not sure what kind of rabbit she bred with but she produced quite a colourful litter! I instantly fell in love with Popcorn :o)

We do have a dilemma though...they can't tell whether we have a he or a she. Baby rabbits are VERY hard to sex. I initially thought that I had picked a male then they told me it was a female. When I went to pick up Popcorn, they told me I had a male. Next week I have a vet appointment and Dr. C (my bunny expert) will hopefully figure things out because the next step will be to spay or neuter.

Last night I put the harness on Popcorn and took him outside. I plan on getting him used to it so we can enjoy the outdoors together. I had a heck of a time trying to get a picture of him though and it was so funny to watch DH holding the leash and running after the rabbit around the yard ;o)

Duncan has been introduced to Popcorn although things will definitely have to be supervised. Since Duncan is a herding dog, he tried to nip Popcorn a couple of times and that is just not acceptable considering his small size. He is totally obsessed with his new playmate as you can see in this picture -

LOL!

Sorry there have been no stitching pictures lately but hopefully I can get back to that real soon. I will have some stash pictures to show though ;o) There will be plenty more Popcorn pictures and The Bunny Whisperer (DH) has already hypnotized him!

D-Dog

After reading Parsley's post and watching the video of her dogs, I thought I would have a little fun with Duncan and see what he'd do for the camera ;o) I caught him at feeding time so this is when he's the most entertaining. LOL! Enjoy!

The Aftermath

It's hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. We have all this anticipation pent up for the big day and when it arrives, the day is over...just like that. But I have to say, even though we were not surrounded by family this year, DH and I still had a lovely day :o)

We were up around 7 am. Quite impressive for me considering that my feet don't hit the bedroom floor before 9 am. Deep, deep down, I'm still a kid at heart. LOL! I was stunned to find some extra boxes under the tree though. I thought DH and I had agreed to stockings only >:o( Now don't get me wrong! Surprises are always nice ;o)

It seems that I was a good girl this year because I got two pairs of new pyjamas, the new Harry Potter Bluray DVD, a gorgeous Bombay jewellery box (DH has told me for the past 15 years that he was going to make me one...), the new Matt Dusk CD, fuzzy socks, a Bamboo tablet for my computer, pink ribbon items (USB drive, scissors, pen and Sharpies) plus my favourite -

Duncan had a ball opening his two new rawhide bones that he got from Santa :o) Then he felt the need to help us unwrap our gifts. In the end, we had torn paper everywhere. This is the result of all his work -

LOL! He was one tired puppy. Of course it took a lot of effort trying to 'hide' his new bones. You see, Duncan doesn't like to chew his bones; he loves to bury them, wait until they're nice and soft and then dig them up again so that he can eat them. DH and I haven't let him take these bones out so he's been going around the house, 'trying' to hide them. Duncan doesn't like to exert too much energy so he just places the bones 'beside' the couch or china cabinet and figures we can't see them ;o)

DH made a wonderful Christmas meal! We had a stuffed Butterball turkey (10-12 pounds) and we only paid $13.00 for it. Super deal! He roasted up some potatoes, butternut squash and turnip and made cranberry sauce from scratch. Delicious :o) What a guy and he's something else that I'm truly blessed about.

I've been reading some Blogs and I see that others have had a wonderful Christmas as well and I'm glad to hear that :o) So what is everyone up to on New Year's Eve? DH and I have been invited to a friend's house to play their new Wii. I've discovered that I'm a pretty good bowler and an excellent marksman so I'm ready to kick some butt ;o)

Hocus Pocus

Do you want to see a trick? Well say "Yes!" because I know deep down you really want to ;o)

Okay, here's 'The Magic Box' -

Looks pretty innocent right? Now watch as The Great Pumpkin waves her magic wand and...TA-DA...it's a snowman -

Isn't he just THE most adorable thing you've ever seen? I love, love, love him :o) This was the snowman I was talking about in my November 27 post. But...when I went back this past Wednesday, they didn't have any and I kicked myself all the way home for not buying him when I had the chance. So when I got in the door, I immediately called their other store and she had three left. Whew! DH even sweet talked the saleslady and got a $2 discount :oP

Yesterday I placed my Snowman In A Box on our front porch and I think that got DH in the Christmas mood because the next thing I knew, he was getting out the lights and then took off to get some boughs. We placed the boughs along the railing going up the stairs and wrapped the lights around them to hold them in place. Then we continued with the lights and wound them around the posts and up along the top of the porch. We added more boughs to cover up the wires along the top and then placed a wreath in the peak of the porch roof. Finally, DH made some pine boughs to hang on the ends of the railings and I supplied the bows :o) We're not completely done so I don't have any pictures yet. I promise I'll post some later on.

Thank you SO much for all the wonderful comments on my Mini Me pumpkin :o) I really appreciate them. Needle-felting isn't really that hard. It's like sculpting but with wool. The only hazard is the 'really' sharp needle.

My Lady's Quaker is online again but you'll have to wait for another progress picture ;o) Thankfully the thread dye lots matched!

Before I end this post, I'm putting up this picture for Irene -

She wanted to see Duncan on (one of) his new beds so there he is. Surprisingly, he was quite happy to have his picture taken. LOL!

Double Trouble

Well it appears that Duncan is experiencing a better social life than I am. To be honest, that's probably not too hard right now... Since DH and I have been taking him on walks, he's met at least a half dozen other dogs. Some he'll ignore, others he'll sniff but there's one lady that he's quite enamoured with :o) I haven't seen Duncan this gaga since his crush on Calamity Jane (a Boxer). This little lady is an Airedale Terrier but I don't know her name. Each time they meet, they just have to greet each other and from what we can see, she's just as taken with Duncan.

On the weekend, Duncan finally got to meet one of his kind. There's another Australian Cattle Dog in our area and he's a red one too! Although he is smaller than Duncan, he's got all the telltale marks of a Cattle Dog. It was funny talking to his owners because we got to compare notes and they both do the exact same things :o) Too funny. They couldn't get over how big and muscular Duncan was. I'm not sure if he's big for his breed but he is a sturdy fellow and if you saw him running at you straight on, I can guarantee you'd be gunning it in the opposite direction. LOL!

Last Thursday, DH and I went to the big city. While we were there, Duncan went to the groomers :o) He didn't seem too upset when we picked him up so it must have been a good experience for him. He's now super clean and smelling good! We've moved him into the main house and bought him a huge doggie bed at Costco. It smells like cedar and it's actually nice enough that I want to curl up in it! So far, so good with this new move and Duncan is extremely happy to be around us full-time now :o)

I finally completed my Chickadee!

One bird down and three more to go to finish my Birds & Berries by The Prairie Schooler. I love the colors. I wasn't too sure at first but now that the greens and reds are in there, I've warmed up to it. I think I'm going to go upwards and stitch the top bird next (a Nuthatch possibly?).

Before that, I want to stitch up a little ornament first. I started it yesterday and it shouldn't take too long to complete. I'm not going to tell you what it is though. Gotta keep some things secret you know ;o)

Only two more days until...

There will be games, prizes and lots of fun. Hope to see you there!